The HPT Model Applied to a Boutique‐Style Online Retail Store

Suzy Q's is a retail business located in the southeastern United States. It offers hand‐knitted scarves; handmade hair accessories; handcrafted beaded jewelry such as necklaces, bracelets, and earrings; small handmade children's toys; and stock and custom‐printed T‐shirts. It began operations in early 2014. The owners established an online store and developed plans to sell items at local craft fairs and farmers’ markets in the southeastern United States. During its initial launch, the business generated limited orders for its products. In the beginning there was a limited amount of advertising using social media, which consisted of establishing a Facebook page, posting notifications on the business's Facebook page, and posting notifications about the business to the owners’ personal contacts on Facebook. Despite establishing a web presence and utilizing social media in its first year of operations, Suzy Q's did not generate a significant number of orders and received very little revenue. The owners of Suzy Q's, our client, established a goal to generate at least $700 per month in revenue for the calendar year 2015. Our analysis of the business revealed that the managers and employees had the skills needed to perform the work, but the lack of orders presented an obstacle to achieving their business goals. After completing a performance analysis, we recommended that Suzy Q's establish a single online presence, implement a marketing effort, establish a local presence, create a dedicated studio space, and create a formal business plan. It was our belief that Suzy Q's had the potential to reach its goals set for 2015 and beyond if these solutions were implemented.     

Performance‐based measurement: Action for organizations and HPT accountability

Basic measurements and applications of six selected general but critical operational performance‐based indicators—effectiveness, efficiency, productivity, profitability, return on investment, and benefit‐cost ratio—are presented. With each measurement, goals and potential impact are explored. Errors, risks, limitations to measurements, and a final check for validity, applicability, accountability, and usability of these measurements are discussed. This article provides a simple, practical guide to performance measurement for organizations and human performance technology practitioners' accountability and continuous improvement.     

The Responsive,Ample CARE doctrine and fundamental performance approaches for achieving high‐quality deliverables

High‐quality performance for achieving desired deliverables requires using the Responsive, Ample CARE doctrine: meaning that deliverables must be complete, accurate, refined, and effective to achieve customer satisfaction. There are only two fundamental approaches to accomplishing tasks associated with deliverables: quick and dirty (Q&D) and methodical and polished (M&P). The Q&D approach features rapid achievement of tasks, with little or no concern for keeping the work area organized and uncluttered. The M&P approach features methodical achievement of tasks with considerable concern for keeping the work area organized and uncluttered.     

From ‘consulting pupils’ to ‘pupils as researchers’: a situated case narrative

Schools in England are now being encouraged to ‘personalise’ the curriculum and to consult students about teaching and learning. This article reports on an evaluation of one high school which is working hard to increase student subject choice, introduce integrated curriculum in the middle years and to improve teaching and learning while maintaining a commitment to inclusive and equitable comprehensive education. The authors worked with a small group of students as consultants to develop a ‘student's‐eye’ set of evaluative categories in a school‐wide student survey. They also conducted teacher, student and governor interviews, lesson and meeting observations, and student ‘mind‐mapping’ exercises. In this article, in the light of the findings, the authors discuss the processes they used to work jointly with the student research team, and how they moved from pupils‐as‐consultants to pupils‐as‐researchers, a potentially more transformative/disruptive practice. They query the notion of ‘authentic student voice’ and show it as discursive and heterogeneous: they thus suggest that both a standards and a rights framings of student voice must be regarded critically.     

The odd couple: Effective public schools/mental health joint programming to provide educational/therapeutic services to emotionally disturbed students and their families

“The Odd Couple…” is a narrative presentation of the successful joint programming efforts of a public school system and community centers for mental health in providing comprehensive educational services to emotionally disturbed students. Problems and resolutions in regard to control, coordination, and philosophy issues are discussed. This article describes a simple yet effective model for cost effective and successful joint programs between non-administratively related agencies.     

The effect of instructional quality on low‐ and high‐performing students

The study assessed the effects of the quality of reading and math instruction and classroom climate on the academic skills and engagement of 314 children in 245 classrooms at the end of third grade. All of the children in the study were from families with low incomes. On a classroom observation measure developed for the study, regression analyses revealed that relatively high ratings on the reading and math instruction subscales, which were scored after a half‐day observation, predicted better reading and math achievement test scores, respectively, for third graders who had previously had poor academic performance, but did not have a significant effect for relatively high‐performing students. High teacher ratings on the reading instruction and classroom climate observation scales predicted high levels of student engagement. The findings suggest the importance of high‐quality teaching for economically disadvantaged children who have poor academic skills.     

Designing for performance,Part 1: Aligning your HPT decisions from top to bottom

Wanting to improve individual and organizational performance is a worthwhile ambition. Yet your success in accomplishing this relies heavily on the suitable selection, design, and development of performance technologies. Only when capable performance technologies are systematically aligned with the desired results of your organization and its partners will you achieve sustainable performance improvements. In this article, the first of a three‐part series, you will find a systematic process for initiating the design of a performance system that will accomplish useful results. From identifying the performance expectations of internal and external partners to justifying the performance objectives you establish as guides for future decision making, the systematic processes described in this article will provide you with the initial tools for successfully selecting an integrated set of performance technologies that have the capacity to accomplish valuable results.     

Developing content‐valid selection procedures: What every HPT and HRD professional should know

To be useful to both human resources development professionals and human performance technology (HPT) practitioners, the process for developing validated employee selection instruments must also be user friendly. By following the procedures outlined in this study, user‐friendly pre‐employment tests can be developed that are also fair and content valid. HPT knowledge and support of these procedures will greatly increase the efficiency of the selection process and ensure that the organizational performers are selected according to standardized criteria.     

E‐Learning Ain't Performance: Reviving HPT in an Era of Agile and Lean

Not all instructional design models are fully integrated into the HPT practice. Some of these processes such as the successive approximation model (SAM) and the lot like Agile methods approach (LLAMA) are the outgrowth of Agile processes for instructional design. The major design processes are often assumed to be competitive; that is, one model is better than the other. However, most Agile instructional design processes assume that the most ubiquitous performance solution is e‐learning, hence the direct integration of Agile processes. Therefore, instead of thinking about design models, we think about instructional methods and solutions over human performance technology (HPT). These methods are all equal until one understands the conditions or the context of the instructional or performance problem. We recommend designers reverse engineer the Agile instructional systems design process by using a rapid performance analysis method that quickly pinpoints and confirms the performance problem(s).     

Playing football without a ball: language,reading and academic performance in a high‐poverty school

Second language (L2) reading research suggests that there is a complex interplay between L2 proficiency, first language (L1) reading and L2 reading. However, not much is known about the effect of L1 proficiency on L1 reading, and of L1 reading on L2 reading, or vice versa, in bilingual settings when readers have few opportunities for extensive reading in their L1. The relationships between L1 (Northern Sotho) and L2 (English) proficiency and L1 and L2 reading were examined in Grade 7 learners attending a high‐poverty primary school in South Africa, during the course of a year when a reading intervention programme was implemented. The effect that attention to reading and accessibility of books had on the learners' reading proficiency in both languages was examined, and the factors that predicted academic performance were analysed. When the learners were engaged in more reading, L2 reading contributed more variance to L1 reading than L1 proficiency. Reading in both languages also contributed significantly to academic performance. The study highlights the need for more cross‐linguistic reading research in different educational settings.     

Response‐to‐intervention in high‐risk preschools: Critical issues for implementation

This article summarizes the current knowledge of response‐to‐intervention (RTI) models in preschool settings, with an emphasis on evaluating the strengths and weaknesses of our current research base. Particular attention is given to the unique challenges of high‐risk preschool settings. Presently, sufficient empirical support exists to begin establishing tiered intervention systems and building teacher capacity. Lacking, however, are valid and reliable assessment tools and insufficiently trained personnel to support a data‐based decision‐model within high‐risk preschools. We conclude that organizational development should focus on building teacher capacity, establishing high‐quality classroom instruction, and planning for sustainable programs, with adoption of a full RTI service delivery model serving as a long‐range aspirational goal. © 2011 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.     

Developing local oral reading fluency cut scores for predicting high‐stakes test performance

This study evaluated the classification accuracy of a second grade oral reading fluency curriculum‐based measure (R‐CBM) in predicting third grade state test performance. It also compared the long‐term classification accuracy of local and publisher‐recommended R‐CBM cut scores. Participants were 266 students who were divided into a calibration sample (n = 170) and two cross‐validation samples (n = 46; n = 50), respectively. Using calibration sample data, local fall, winter, and spring R‐CBM cut scores for predicting students’ state test performance were developed using three methods: discriminant analysis (DA), logistic regression (LR), and receiver operating characteristic curve analysis (ROC). The classification accuracy of local and publisher‐recommended cut scores was evaluated across subsamples. Only DA and ROC produced cut scores that maintained adequate sensitivity (≥.70) across cohorts; however, LR and publisher‐recommended scores had higher levels of specificity and overall correct classification. Implications for developing local cut scores are discussed.